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New therapeutic approaches to protect neurons from inflammation and toxicity-induced neurodegeneration

New research led by Chu Chen, PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, provides evidence that one of the only naturally occurring fatty acids in the brain that has the ability to interact with the receptors originally identified as the targets of THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana) can help to protect brain cells from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

20 Aug 2008

New discovery on how rheumatoid arthritis destroys bone

Researchers have discovered key details of how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) destroys bone, according to a study published in the Aug. 22 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The findings are already guiding attempts to design new drugs to reverse RA-related bone loss and may also address more common forms of osteoporosis with a few adjustments.

20 Aug 2008

Addiction drug Vigabatrin proves successful in animal weight loss study

Vigabatrin, a medication proposed as a potential treatment for drug addiction by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, also leads to rapid weight loss and reduced food intake according to a new animal study from the same research group.

20 Aug 2008

eHealth closer to reality thanks to real-time relevant medical data extraction

In the framework of Holst Centre, IMEC - Europe's leading independent nanoelectronics research institute - has broadened the functionality and scope of its wireless health monitoring technology by linking it to real-time extraction of relevant medical data.

20 Aug 2008

Alcohol's effects on childbearing onset across reproductive development

Alcohol use during the teen years can not only lead to subsequent alcohol problems, it can also lead to risky sexual behavior and a greater risk of early childbearing. An examination of the relationship between a lifetime history of alcohol dependence (AD) and timing of first childbirth across reproductive development has found that AD in women is associated with delayed reproduction.

20 Aug 2008

Obesity raises risks of serious gastrointestinal diseases

The prevalence of obesity and overweight in the United States coupled by the increased risk of gastrointestinal diseases related to obesity raises serious implications for the health of Americans. Several scientific studies in the August issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology examine the association between obesity and the risk of colorectal cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.

19 Aug 2008

One night without sleep increases chemical dopamine in the human brain

Because drugs that increase dopamine, like amphetamines, promote wakefulness, the findings offer a potential mechanism explaining how the brain helps people stay awake despite the urge to sleep. However, the study also shows that the increase in dopamine cannot compensate for the cognitive deficits caused by sleep deprivation.

19 Aug 2008

Attacking heart failure in the young

Pediatric cardiology experts from around the world will gather at the Indiana University School of Medicine for the inaugural Riley Heart Center Symposium on Cardiac Development Sept. 8-9 at Riley Hospital for Children.

19 Aug 2008

Bacterial pneumonia caused most deaths in 1918 influenza pandemic

The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection.

19 Aug 2008

Boys more likely to grow out of asthma

According to researchers in the U.S. boys are more likely than girls to grow out of childhood asthma when they reach their teenage years.

19 Aug 2008

Stanford develop method to overcome multiple drug resistant diseases

Many drugs once considered Charles Atlases of the pharmaceutical realm have been reduced to the therapeutic equivalent of 97-pound weaklings as the diseases they once dispatched with ease have developed resistance to them.

18 Aug 2008

When the patient can't make the decision

Family members are often called upon to make medical choices for patients who are unable to do so themselves. Researchers led by Alexia Torke, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc., studied how physicians treating these patients interacted with surrogate decision-makers.

18 Aug 2008

Scientists discover platelets play an important early role in promoting cerebral malaria

Platelets - those tiny, unassuming cells that cause blood to clot and scabs to form when you cut yourself - play an important early role in promoting cerebral malaria, an often lethal complication that occurs mostly in children.

18 Aug 2008

Wake Forest University launches major initiatives in bioethics

Responding to a looming 'bioethics crisis,' Wake Forest University is launching several initiatives in bioethics to address the ethical and social aspects of medical care and technology.

18 Aug 2008

Study looks at physician perspectives on surrogate decision making

18 Aug 2008

Antibodies to 1918 flu pandemic may provide means to tackle bird flu threat

Scientists in the United States have discovered that elderly survivors of the original 1918 flu pandemic, still have immunity to the virus.

18 Aug 2008

Young women who smoke significantly increase their risk of a stroke

New research from scientists in the U.S. has found that the risk of younger women having a stroke is double if they smoke and if they are heavy smokers they have nine times the stroke risk.

18 Aug 2008

Dual-mode nanoparticles image tumors using MRI and PET

Medical imaging represents one of the most used and useful procedures in the oncologist's diagnostic toolkit, even though each of the most useful techniques-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography x-ray imaging (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning-has its own set of limitations.

17 Aug 2008

Psychological stress and how it might affect allergy sufferers

A new study here shows that even slight stress and anxiety can substantially worsen a person's allergic reaction to some routine allergens.

14 Aug 2008

Discovery of major genetic cause of colorectal cancer

About one-third of colorectal cancers are inherited, but the genetic cause of most of these cancers is unknown. The genes linked to colorectal cancer account for less than 5 percent of all cases.

14 Aug 2008